Will Of Stone.

After a few minutes, Jun and Ronin finally arrived at the cemetery to commemorate the death of the ninjas who died in combat during the Second Shinobi World War.

"Jun Bushida! How's my favorite chuunin been all this time?" exclaimed a man with a hoarse voice, waving his hand as he approached Jun, holding Ronin in his arms. "Oh... Congratulations!" he continued.

"Hahaha, thanks, Hisashi," Jun replied. "So, did the reconnaissance go well?" Jun continued.

"Yeah, it's fine... There haven't been many movements in the other villages since the end of the war," he said, with a serious tone. Hisashi was on a reconnaissance mission in the other villages to observe any reactions from them after the war.

'I see... It's true that in the anime, Onoki is often referred to as a shadowy Kage. Someone ambivalent. Anyway, besides that, I don't know many people in this village...

From what I remember, Iwa Village wasn't very developed in the anime. We don't know many important characters from there. I remember Onoki, Kurotsuchi, Deidara, Akatsuchi, and that clan whose name I can't recall, who were humiliated during the Third Ninja World War by the Aburame clan…' Ronin thought, analyzing the ninjas present at the commemoration.

"Ah! There's also Roshi! Son Goku's host," he thought, spotting a person he believed to be Roshi, mostly because of his unique hair color.

Ronin also noticed that he wasn't the only baby present. Several ninjas had brought their babies or very young children.

After a few discussions between Jun and his friends, all the ninjas present at the commemoration formed rows (with the higher-ranking ones at the front), while Ronin looked at the memorial in the center of the cemetery with anticipation.

A few moments after all the ninjas present had lined up, a small elderly man with fair skin, black eyes, a big red nose, and thick eyebrows walked slowly between the two groups formed by the ninjas. They were all dressed in black or dark-colored attire, including him.

Onoki was closely followed by five elders and three presumed younger ninjas. They were the Iwa Council.

'It's good to see that this village is managed by more people than Konoha,' Ronin thought, recalling that the Konoha Council had only four members.

Onoki hovered slightly above the podium, ready to address everyone, with the members of the Iwa Council behind him. Once all attention was on him, he began.

"We are here, ninjas of Iwa, gathered to pay tribute to our comrades who fell in combat during the Second Shinobi World War," declared Onoki. Some ninjas showed a mix of sadness and anger on their faces.

"One day, my grandfather, the first Tsuchikage, explained to me the value of a ninja's will in Iwa. A ninja is a ninja filled with determination, and no matter the difficulties faced, the strong will within represents their essence and their belonging to Iwa. This is what we call the Will of Stone.

All of you, ninjas of Iwa, carry within you the Will of Stone. This unwavering will makes you brave ninjas of Iwa and the pride of our village. This same will, passed on by our fallen comrades, will forever be engraved in our Will of Stone. A will that was not taken away from them even after death. May they rest in peace," Onoki exclaimed, with a proud and sorrowful tone, then proceeded to recite the names of the fallen ninjas one by one.

'The Will of Stone... It's really convincing. I could have been fooled if I didn't already know that they send children to the front lines and create soldiers without an ounce of free will!', Ronin thought to himself, recalling the Will of Stone mentioned by Onoki.

Ronin saw the Will of the Stone in the same way he saw the Will of Fire in Konoha: pure brainwashing. To him, these so-called wills were concepts created by the early kages to train obedient ninjas and instill a strong sense of belonging in their minds.

After thirty good minutes of commemoration, everyone present at the cemetery began to leave, including Jun and Ronin, whom he still held in his arms.

Throughout the ceremony, Jun had a nostalgic look as he heard the names mentioned by the Tsuchikage. Perhaps he had many friends who perished in this war. It is clear, in any case, that the Second Shinobi World War left profound scars on all those who participated in it.

Ronin, on the other hand, was about to fall asleep. The monotony with which Onoki recited each name magically made his eyelids heavy.

Once they returned home, Jun noticed that Ronin was about to fall asleep and quickly put him to bed. He then went to discuss the ceremony with Saki, who was preparing dinner.

That same night, Ronin continued his training to sense chakra. However, he encountered great difficulties as he had lived in a world completely devoid of it.

He knew that chakra was a result of physical and spiritual energy. He was very interested in how it worked and had done research on the subject in the past.

One of the exercises he could practice was meditation. On one hand, he could increase his chakra quantity while trying to sense it. Unable to physically train in his baby body or practice and study his jutsus, meditation was the only thing he could do.

His routine continued like this: wake up, eat, spend time listening to his parents' conversations to gather information, eat, meditate, and then sleep.

Days turned quickly into weeks, then months, then years... Without realizing the passage of time, Ronin was now three years old.

'I think I now have the same amount of chakra as a child of my age whose both parents are ninjas," thought young Ronin, now three years old.

He was more defined now. His hair had grown the same color as his father's, his big emerald eyes shone as brightly as his mother's, and his chubby face displayed a joyful smile.

It took him a whole year to be able to sense his chakra. He was somewhat disappointed to see that his reserve was quite low. He had no point of comparison other than himself, but he instinctively knew he had less chakra than a ninja child.

This could be explained by the fact that only his father was a ninja, so his only genetic source of chakra came from his father. His mother was a civilian like any other, never having learned to expand her chakra reserves or even sense it.

Ronin also got a good scare during his training when he had a medical check-up. It was simply an annual examination to ensure Ronin was developing properly.

During this visit, he learned from a sensory-type ninja that his chakra seemed higher than average considering his family situation, but there was nothing alarming. After that statement, Ronin felt reassured and could now focus on his training without fear of the consequences.

He didn't mind being treated as a genius, but some people might have if they knew about a barely one-year-old infant having an unusually high amount of chakra considering his family situation and genetics.

He didn't want to be separated from his family and thought he might be forced to participate in a special program. His imagination ran wild, but his thoughts were justified, considering he was indeed in the world of Naruto, where young children are experimented on and sent to the front lines.

His first words were a deeply emotional moment for Jun and Saki. Just to tease Jun because he knew he would be disappointed, Ronin said "mama" first.

He still remembers the betrayed and dejected expression Jun had displayed as a result. Jun was down for several days! Saki, on the other hand, was very happy that her son was finally able to speak, or at least utter some semblance of words.

His first steps were also a moment of great emotion. Not only for his parents but for him as well. After ten long years in a wheelchair and a year trapped in a baby's body, he finally succeeded in walking again.

He expressed his gratitude over and over again for this new chance he was given with this second life.

As for Ronin's training after he finally managed to sense his chakra, he was now trying to train his control. He saw chakra control as a crucial piece of its usage.

Optimization was something he found essential as a former analyst and coach.

His chakra control training involved concentrating it in different parts of his body for varying periods of time. He tried to replicate the leaf concentration exercise he had seen in the anime.

His memories of the anime were already starting to fade. He could barely remember the small details and insignificant characters. Ronin blamed himself a little for his poor memory, but he couldn't do much about it.

And finally, during his third year, the war began.